Bow for stringed musical instruments



June 6, 1933. 1 M ALLlsoN BOW FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed`April 8, 1932 son Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES Pareti/rl OFFICE-BOW FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Application filed April 8,

r1`his invention relates to bows for violins and similar stringinstruments, as the cello and viol.

The usual bow is hand-1nade of solid wood. If of good grade and wellmade, it is quite eX- pcnsive. If of cheap grade and poorly made, itsuse imposes a tremendous lun'den upon. the artist. In either case, thefactors which are controlling include such delicate and elusiveconsiderations as weight, balance, proper tension, and tone, for whichthere is no real standard of measurement other than the personal feelingof the artist himself.

With wooden bows, even of the most expensive make, therefore, it isimpossible to obtain any real uniformity of product, and this is evenmore true of the cheaper article. N o two bows of the same grade orprice have the same qualities in exactly the same degree. The result isthat the skilled perfornier, who must always have a supply of bows, atleast two, on hand at all times, because of the ever present danger ofbreakage, is apt to be seriously handicapped if compelled to change bowson instant notice because of dropping and snapping the tip, and remainsunder such handicap until he has accustomed himself to the differentweight, balance, tension and feel of the substituted bow.

Various metal bows have been proposed, but none of them has found favorin the profession. One reason may have been that the bows themselveswere either frealish in appearance or were made in some impossibleweight, tension, flexibility or balance.

The object of my invention is to provide a metal bow which willfaithfully duplicate appearance, weight, tension, balance, andflexibility of the most expensive hand-made wooden bow and at the sametime will avoid all of the objections which have prevented the metalbows of the prior patented art from being adopted by the profession.

bow may be mad-e commercially as a quantity product by manufacturingmethods which are at once simple and relatively inexpensive. Although a`quantity product, my bows nevertheless are of uniform characteristie, sothat the artist can always replace 1932. Serial No. 604,096.

his favorite bow by another of practically exactly the same weight,flexibility, balance, and feel,

Recognizing however, that a bow which appeals to one artist may notplease another, l have provided for selectively varying the weight andbalance of my bow to suit the individual taste of the individual artist.This variable factor, however, has been arranged on the basis of apredetermined departure from standard weight and balance through the useof replaceable and inter-Y changeable balancing weights and/or tips ofknown mass.

1 As illustrative of the principles involved, l desribe and show in theaccompanying specification and drawing a form 'of bow which has beenwidely approved by leading artists and which at the same time representsan embodiment which is capable of produc- 5^' tion in commercialquantities at the minimum manufacturing expense consistent with aproduct of its demonstrated quality.

ln the drawing Fig. .l is a longitudinal section through a bow inaccordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is ran elevation of the staff of such bow, removed.

Fig. 3 shows in fragmentary perspective several modilications incross-sectional configuration of the staff. n

Fig. 4t is a perspective view of the tip, removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-'5 of Fig. 4, and

f Fig. 6 is adetail view of a balancing weight, removed.

l have indicated at l the staff of Lmy novel bow which according to myinvention is a hard-drawn seamless tube of a. metal which is lightenough to satisfy the requirements as to weight and while flexible isnevertheless strong enough. and stift' enoughto avoid the defect ofbeing over-flexible or unduly limber.

By using a. hard-drawn seamless tube, I obtain thetemper which is sonecessary to give the proper tension on the hairs and to eliminate thejumpiness which is due to variations in the hardness of the wood and thepeculiarities of the grain and which causes the musician to lose controlof his playing.

I also avoid the disadvantages which follow when it has been attemptedto roll a thin ribbon ot' steel around a mandrel and then braze it, ashas been proposed in the art. This results` in a bow which is not onlyof poor temper because of the excessive heat in brazing. but is soflexible as to be practically limber, if made in any thickness of wallwhich would give a bow of standard weight. There wall thickness isincreased in order to stillen the bow, the weight ot the bow iscorrespondingly increased so that when the proper stitlness iseventually attained, the bow is of some impracticable weight.

I also avoid the disadvantages which follow where it has been attemptedto bore a solid metal rod from end to end and afterwards mill it tocorrugated form, as has also been proposed in the art. This is not onlyi, prohibitively expensive manufacturing method but necessarily resultsin a bow ot' excess weight, and unusual stitl'ness, due to theimpossibility of boring and corrugating a rod thin enough to give therequired weight and tension without breakingl out the rod wall. It therod is also tapered, as is necessary to give proper balance ot weight,this method ot' manufacture is even more expensive.

In my invention, the hard-drawn seamless tube or statt' is uniformlytapered from its tip towards its butt so as to lighten the bow at itstip and reduce its springiness. Such statl'1 may be ot any desired crosssection, as appears in Fig. 3, and is made in such shape that it willstraighten ont uniformly from end to end when the hairs 2 are drawn totension.

Preferably, the statl' tapers from tip to butt at about .110 ot an inchin thirty inches. This allows you the proper degree of spring at the tipend ot the statt when the statt is initially shaped to the conventionalsha )e of the best wooden bows, so that when the hairs are drawn to theproper tension for playing, the stalrA is brought back to the curvatureot' the best wooden bow when similarly tensioned.

I preferably use aluminum or duralumimnn as the material for the staff.This metal recommends itself on account of its lightness and strengthand gives a stillness and rigidity comparable to the solid wooden stall"of equivalent weight. The staff is made in standard length and ifanything is slightly lighter than the usual wooden stall of equivalentlength but this slight under-weight according to my invention may becompensated for according to the particular fancy of the purchaser bythe use of interchangeable and replaceable balance weights, as will belater described.

The staif when drawn has a wall thickness of approximately .020 forviolin bows. Such thickness, however, may vary from .O15 to .032, theserepresenting the minimum and maximum thicknesses. For celles and bassviols, the wall thickness is correspondingly heavier, but in any case isno heavier than a solid wooden bow of corresponding purpose.

Regardless ot the type ot' bow, however, the stalf must not be so thinas not to retain its shape nor so tlexible as to be practically limber.Nor must it be so thick as to have some impracticable stiffness orweight.

lithin the limits of fall thicknesses given, I find that the stall of mybow is entirely satisfactory both as to weight and rigidity.

I have indicated at 3 a tip which is of generally conventional form. Itis, however` provided with a solid stem 3 which is inserted into theadjacent end ot the stall1 and detachably fastened therein in anysuitable manner as by pinning or by a drive fit. The stem projects f'arenough into the tubular statt' to give suliicient bearing and this stemextension becomes a factor of balance, the extension being purposelymade long enough so that it may be partly cut off when desired tolighten the how at its tip, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

The hairs are anchored to the tip in any suitable manner. At theiropposite ends they are anchored to the usual frog 4. This frog isprovided with the usual concaved seat on its upper face for receivingthe tube l, the tube being longitudil'ially slotted on its under side asindicated at 5 and the upper face of the frog being provided with theusual stud (i which enters said slot and constitutes a bearing for theusual screw 7 by means of which the hairs 2 are tightened or loosened.

Said screw 7 enters the tube troni the rear and is provided with asuitably shaped head 8 by means of which it may be grasped and rotated.I conveniently utilize such threaded stein as a retainer for a series ofintel-chang able and replaceable balance weights. One ot these weightsis indicated at 9 and is shown as slid into the rear end of the tube.The tension screw 7 is passed through an axial hole in said weight andthe head 8 of the screw abuts the adjacent end ot' the weight andretains it in place within the tube.

By removing the tension screw 7 and replacing such weight with a weightof ditl'erent mass I may conveniently alter the weight and balance ofthe bo f at this end. i

The balance of the bow at its tip end may be varied by the use ofreplacealile and interchangeable tips ot diferent weight, or by cuttingof the stem extension 3 of the tip shown whereby to reduce weight.

Before heilig balanced,` as described, my bow, as a violin bow, weighsapproximately one and one-half ounces. (Troy weight.) Its weight mayvary, however, from perhaps one and one-half ounces to two onnces-threepennyweight.

Being of one-piece construction, my staff avoids uneven tension andbreaks in vibration, as in the case of a sectional staff.

If desired, the staff may be colored, as by electro-plating, to simulatethe coloring of the y best woolen bows.

The method by which I obtain my harddrawn seamless tube is neither abrazing nor a reaming operation. Instead I start with a seamless tube ofinitially cylindrical crosssection and by means of a tapered steelarbor, draw such tube into a tube of the desired weight, taper, andshape.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Astad for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitar hard-drawn,tapered seamless metal tube o substantially uniform wall thickness fromend to end.

2. A staff for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitaryhard-drawn, tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform wallthickness from end to end, said wall thickness in a violin bow beingbetween .015 and .032 of an inch.

3. A staff for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitaryhard-drawn, tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform Wallthickness from end to end, said wall thickness in a violin bow beingapproximate- 1y .020.

4. As a vnew article of manufacture, a metal stafl for a musicalinstrument bow which substantially duplicates the appearance, tension,balance, shape and exibility of an expensive hand-made wooden bow, saidstaf consisting of a unitary hard-drawn tapered seamless metal tube ofsubstantially uniform'wall thickness and taper from end to end, saidstaff being slightly less in weight than an equivalent wooden bow, andbeing provided with adjustable and replaceable means whereby its weightmay be accurately increasedk at the o tion of the user.

5. In a bow, a ollow staff, a frog adjustable thereon at the butt end ofthe bow, a screw for adjusting said frog, a tip at the opposite end ofthe sta', hairs between said tip and frog, and a removable andreplaceable balance Weight loosely mounted on said screw and concealedwithin said hollow staif for varying the weight of the bow at its butt6. A staff for a violin bow, consisting of a unitary tapered seamlessmetal tube of substantially uniform taper and wall thickness from end toend.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

L. MONT ALLISON.

